The Future of Banking is Community Banking

One of the first questions someone may have when deciding on a bank is: small or big – national or local? Jennifer Church, Executive Vice President of Retail Banking at Village Bank, lays out the core differences between the two options and makes a case on the side of local community banks.

Jennifer has over 22 years of experience in banking and has held some unique positions in the industry in the past. Over her extensive career, she has been constantly reminded of the importance of community banking, and that remains her passion to this day.

Jennifer supports the claim of community banking being the future of banking with two main elements: security and trust. She starts by addressing the perception that a big, national bank is somehow inherently safer than a community bank.

“It makes sense that consumers may simply feel safer with a bigger bank, that the government will bail them out if it were to fail,” Jennifer says. “But it is not necessarily true that bigger equals safer. We’re all insured through FDIC.” Village Bank has the same amount of government support and resources that big banks receive.

Community banks, like Village Bank, are also able to capitalize on the aspects that make local banking unique. There’s a prominent element of human touch, of trusted guidance, that bigger banks are sometimes unable to bring to the table.

“When you call our customer care team, you don’t have to push numbers and endure extended wait times. Someone will answer the phone. This is the same for any of our branches.” With Village Bank, customers don’t experience bureaucracy and red tape. The bankers at Village Bank are always dedicated to providing exceptional customer service.

Jennifer goes on to describe the experience of walking into a Village Bank branch. “It’s an instant feeling of ‘welcome to the family.’ We have a small staff – three to four people per branch. They know you by name. They know your family. They know your business. It’s important to see the same faces. The more we know, the better solutions we can offer.” She continues, “We go through life events with customers. College, home buying, retirement, vacation savings. There is always a financial impact, and we are here to provide as much guidance as possible.”

Community banks are not purely for personal banking, either. Businesses also see numerous benefits from banking with Village Bank. “It goes back to personal touch. We have dedicated bankers in each branch. Commercial relationship managers and Concierge bankers – we can find the right pairing. We will learn about your business and how we can help support. Because we are local, we want local businesses to succeed. Our size and scale allow us to have that personal relationship.”

The future of banking remains in a constant state of shifting perspectives, given that many preconceived notions of both national and local banks are being challenged. According to Jennifer and her expertise, community banks are able to provide a higher degree of security and trust than bigger banks and will likely continue to do so in the future.